Tim Schenck is an Episcopal priest, husband to Bryna, father to Benedict and Zachary, and \x34master\x34 to Delilah (about 50 in dog years). Since 2009 I've been the rector of the Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist in Hingham, Mass. (on the
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Tim Schenck is an Episcopal priest, husband to Bryna, father to Benedict and Zachary, and \x34master\x34 to Delilah (about 50 in dog years). Since 2009 I've been the rector of the Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist in Hingham, Mass. (on the South Shore of Boston). I've also served parishes in Maryland and New York. When I'm not tending to my parish, hanging out with my family, or writing, I can usually be found drinking good coffee -- not that drinking coffee and these other activities are mutually exclusive. I hope you'll visit my website at www.frtim.com to find out more about me, read some excerpts from my book \x34What Size are God's Shoes: Kids, Chaos & the Spiritual Life\x34 (Morehouse, 2008), and check out some recent sermons.

For Marty Howe , playing on the same line with his younger brother Mark , and his iconic hockey dad Gordie Howe , was a memorable , almost magical time in his career. Being in the sporting public eye has long become as routine as possible, if your father just happens to be looked upon as the greatest professional hockey player of all-time. But, seeing yourself , as well as your family , being portrayed by actors in a Hallmark Channel Original Movie, well this takes the Howe family in uncharted waters in the public eye.

" I've seen parts of it last night ", Marty Howe, Gordie's oldest son , said during our telephone conversation last Wednesday as he was en route from his home in Hartford, Connecticut to see his dad in Detroit, Michigan. " They ( executive producers ) portray me as being shy. I"m shy but not that shy. It's a little strange seeing actors playing your part in a movie ".

' Mr. Hockey ' presented last evening on Canada's CBC TV Network, has been in the making for nine years according to Marty Howe. He tells of explaining to his dad as the storylines unfolded of the hockey feature made-for-TV movie. " Gordie was grasping what he was watching by the end of it. It would have been nice for the movie to have been made when my mom ( Colleen Howe passed away at age 76 on March 6, 2009 ) was alive and Gordie was better. It's interesting anyway ", says Marty, who along with his brother Mark Howe , were part of the 1972-'73 Toronto Marlboros team that won the Memorial Cup in Montreal. The Memorial Cup trophy is presented to the champions of Canada's Major Junior leagues.

In The Gordie Howe Story, starring Michael Shanks as ' Mr. Hockey ' and Kathleen Robertson as ' Mrs. ' Hockey , Marty is portrayed by Dylan Playfair of Fort St. James, British Columbia. Dylan has a hockey legacy going of his own as his dad Jim Playfair is an assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League. The first goal for all parties concerned with this project, led by executive producers Mike Ilitch,Jr. who initiated the producing of the movie , and former New England / Hartford Whaler Owner Howard Baldwin,Jr. , among others , was to actually have the story told on the big screen.

" Getting the funding to make the movie was hard ", Marty Howe recalls. " Hallmark has been doing a great job in getting the word out in the States when people can see it ".

As our conversation continues during what Marty Howe estimates will be a 12-hour drive to his ' home away from home ', the former defenseman chuckles when explaining how his wife views Playfair's portrayal of him. " My wife laughed at seeing me in the movie ", says Marty " It's hard looking at your family on screen, so much was missed. They only had so much time to tell the story ". The Gordie Howe Story was filmed in and around the greater Winnipeg, Monatoba area in Canada. Howe goes on to say there remains enough family material for three more films, labeling his family a close knit team.

Although playing professionally in the World Hockey Association at age 19 with the Houston Aeros for the 1973-'74 season, Marty Howe was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the third round of the 1974 NHL amateur draft. When it came to funding for ' Mr. Hockey ' to be produced, Howe tells of Howard Baldwin,Jr. getting a new script written by Malcolm MacRury, a Canadian, and changed the location of filming to be done in Canada. In doing so, if using Canadians, Canada would subsidize some of the costs.